Trade monitoring
Preface
The Trade Policy Review Mechanism (TPRM) was first established on a trial basis by the GATT CONTRACTING PARTIES in April 1989. The Mechanism became a permanent feature of the World Trade Organization under the Marrakesh Agreement which established the WTO in January 1995.
Streamlining South Africa’s export development efforts in sub-Saharan Africa: A Decision Support Model approach
Given its abundant natural resources and accelerating consumer-driven growth, sub-Saharan Africa has much to offer investors and traders. Yet the region remains weakly integrated into global and regional value chains, due to, among other things, geographical disadvantages, infrastructural shortcomings, high transport costs and difficult-to-access market intelligence – all of which add to the cost of trade. While not an insignificant player in international business and trade circles, South Africa is facing shrinking demand in its traditional export markets and has to plot a new economic course after decades of overreliance on commodity exports and value-added imports. This chapter looks at how a market selection tool, the Decision Support Model (DSM), can streamline the process of identifying export opportunities, particularly at an intra-regional level. Covering both products and services, and adaptable to different countries’ circumstances, the DSM simplifies market selection decisions by pinpointing both short- and longer-term business opportunities in high-potential sectors, while also exposing market access barriers that could become the focus of specific efficiency-enhancing interventions. In this way, the DSM can be a valuable aid to trade facilitation.
Report by the WTO Secretariat
Sierra Leone is a least developed country (LDC) with a relatively young population: 42.4% of its 7.1 million inhabitants are aged less than 15 years. The country is in a fragile post-conflict and post-ebola virus disease (EVD) situation. Agriculture is the backbone of the economy; its contribution to the GDP declined sharply in 2012 because of a boom in the mining sector, before bouncing back as minerals exports collapsed. Sierra Leone is rich in minerals such as gold, diamond, bauxite, rutile, and iron ore. The manufacturing sector is marginal and is limited to first-stage processing of local raw materials and to light industries. Like the other sectors of the economy, it is plagued by weak infrastructure, high production costs, unreliable supply of energy at high prices, and limited access to financing.
Observaciones Formuladas a Modo de Conclusión por la Presidenta Del Órgano de Examen de las Políticas Comerciales, Sra. Irene Young de Hong Kong, China en la Reunión de Examen de las Políticas Comerciales de México celebrada los días 5 y 7 de Abril de 2017
El presente examen de las políticas comerciales ha brindado a los Miembros la oportunidad de comprender mejor las políticas de comercio e inversión de México. Quisiera expresar mi agradecimiento a la delegación de México, encabezada por el Sr. Juan Carlos Baker, Subsecretario de Comercio Exterior de la Secretaría de Economía; al ponente, Excmo. Sr. Embajador Gustavo Vanerio, Representante Permanente del Uruguay ante la OMC; y a todos los Miembros que han participado en este ejercicio, por sus inestimables contribuciones.
Introduction
The Trade Policy Review Mechanism (TPRM) was first established on a trial basis by the GATT contracting parties in April 1989. The Mechanism became a permanent feature of the World Trade Organization under the Marrakesh Agreement which established the WTO in January 1995.